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This data set contains point locations for oil and gas platforms (structures) located in the Gulf of Mexico federal waters. Note: Platforms are being added or modified continuously; obtaining updates of this database are required to know the true distribution of platform data. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate and are NOT an OFFICIAL record.
An oil platform, offshore platform, or (colloquially) oil rig is a large structure with facilities to drill wells (optionally), to extract and process oil and natural gas, or to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing. In many cases, the platform contains facilities to house the workforce as well.
Depending on the circumstances, the platform may be fixed to the ocean floor, may consist of an artificial island, or may float. Remote subsea wells may also be connected to a platform by flow lines and by umbilical connections. These sub-sea solutions may consist of one or more subsea wells, or of one or more manifold centers for multiple wells.
An offshore pipeline (also known as marine, subsea or submarine pipeline) is a pipeline that is laid on the seabed or below it inside a trench. In some cases, the pipeline is mostly on-land but in places it crosses water expanses, such as small seas, straits and rivers. Offshore pipelines are used primarily to carry oil or gas, but transportation of water is also important. A distinction is sometimes made between a flowline and a pipeline. The former is an intra-field pipeline, in the sense that it is used to connect subsea wellheads, manifolds and the platform within a particular development field. The latter, sometimes referred to as an export pipeline, is used to bring the resource to shore. Sizeable pipeline construction projects need to take into account a large number of factors, such as the offshore ecology, geo-hazards and environmental loading – they are often undertaken by multidisciplinary, international teams.
This data set contains the Submerged Lands Act (SLA) boundary line (also known as State Seaward Boundary (SSB), or Fed State Boundary) for the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region. The SLA boundary defines the seaward limit of a state's submerged lands and the landward boundary of federally managed OCS lands. In the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region the boundary is projected 3 nautical miles offshore from the baseline for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama; and 9 miles for Texas and the Gulf coast of Florida.
Further information on the SLA and development of this line from baseline points can be found in OCS Report MMS 99-0006: Boundary Development on the Outer Continental Shelf
https://www.boem.gov/BOEM-Newsroom/Library/Publications/1999/99-0006-pdf.aspx
This file is based on the BOEM - Geospatial Services Division’s Official Protraction Diagram (OPD) and Leasing Maps (LM). The OPDs and LMs and Supplemental Official Block Diagrams (SOBDs) serve as the legal definition for BOEM offshore boundary coordinates and area descriptions. OPDs are numbered using the United Nations International Map of the World Numbering System, and are generally named for land or hydrographic features contained within the limits of the diagram. The use of OPDs and LMs makes it easier to refer to individual blocks within a region or planning area. Leasing Maps are part of an older system still in use in the Gulf of Mexico. OPDs were built where existing oil and gas leases, at the time, had not yet occurred and where LMs had not yet been established. This data set contains Official Protraction Diagram (OPD) and Leasing Map (LM) outlines in ESRI shape file formats for the BOEM Gulf of Mexico Region. In order to produce a file containing all the OPDs in a region – Official UTM OPDs and State Plane projected LM outlines were re-projected to basic geographic NAD27 unprojected space in order to create a continuous file. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact OPD or LM boundaries. Only the official projected paper OPD or LM or a digital image (pdf) of them serves as OFFICIAL records. These can be found at the following location: https://www.boem.gov/Official-Protraction-Diagrams.
OCS Lease Blocks that are currently leased from the federal government by industry for the purpose of development of traditional oil or gas energy products and may or may not be actively developed or producing. Leases in state waters are not included in this layer.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (43 U.S.C. 1331-1356a), as amended, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue, on a competitive basis, leases for oil and gas, and sulfur, in submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf. The Act authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements through the submerged lands of the OCS.
An OCS lease is an agreement that is issued under section 8 or maintained under section 6 of the Act and that authorizes exploration for, and development and production of, minerals on the OCS. The term also means the area covered by that agreement, whichever the context requires. The areas covered by the lease agreement consist of one or more OCS Lease Blocks, or any leasable portion thereof, bid upon as a single administrative unit, that will be part of a single lease.
This data set contains the outlines for active federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region. The file is updated on a monthy basis on or about the first of each month. The lease outlines represent a close approximation, but might not be the exact coordinates for those leases. For official coordinates please refer to the OPD or SOBD for the lease. All leasing in the GOM OCS Region is captured on a NAD27.